Between August and November, net reservations rose 43% on the previous year to 144 per week. As a result of the favourable conditions this year, Bellway expects legal completions to rise by over 20% for the six months to January 2014.
Bellway chairman John Watson said: “While a variety of sales incentives continue to be used, the relatively low deposit requirements and competitive pricing of Help to Buy mortgages remain attractive to consumers, resulting in this incentive being used in 31% of reservations taken.”
Thanks to the sale of a number of expensive London apartments, the average selling price of Bellway homes is expected to rise to roughly £205,000 in the first six months of the financial year.
The builder has spent £121m on land and land creditors this autumn and has agreed terms on a further 4,000 plots, worth £220m.
As a result of favourable market conditions, profit from completions and the group’s own cost-cutting measures, Bellway expects profit margins to exceed 15% in the year ending 31 July 2014.
